Latest news with #MexicanCartels
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Chilling new drug trade Chinese and Mexican cartels are LEGALLY taking over in the US after fentanyl crackdown
Chinese and Mexican drug cartels are trafficking marijuana across America by exploiting the nation's 'legal' cannabis market. International crime groups have been running a multi-billion-dollar black market cannabis industry in the US for at least the last 10 years, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The DEA, in its 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment, revealed that drug traffickers are purchasing land in states with legal marijuana frameworks to operate illicit grow operations. Those operations then serve as the 'main suppliers' of high-potency cannabis to states where the drug is not recreationally legal, as well as abroad, the report found. DEA officials allege these Chinese-owned growing operations 'do not follow the established licensure process' and often 'obtained licenses through falsified means'. They use a labor force comprised of undocumented migrants at the grows and produce cannabis in 'excess of quotas and legal market needs'. The cartels also launder their drug proceeds through licensed marijuana operations, straw ownership, casinos and mortgage fraud, the DEA report found. Recreational marijuana is currently legal or decriminalized in 24 US states and the District of Columbia. It has been legalized for medical use in 39 states and DC. But the DEA warns that 'black market for marijuana has expanded significantly' over the past 20 years as Chinese and other Asian criminal organizations have seized greater control over cannabis trade. Mexican cartels have long dominated the market for illegal weed in the US, but Chinese-operated gangs are now vying to become America's cannabis kingpins. Chinese gangs have set up thousands of illicit weed farms across America and are hiding in plain site, officials revealed. The criminal enterprises are ' exploiting the "legal" market' by operating their grows in states with weak marijuana regulatory structures, such as Oklahoma and California. The DEA report highlighted Oklahoma as a hotspot for illicit cannabis operation, citing how 66 per cent of seizures in 2024 occurred in the state. Officials claim Asian transnational criminal organizations are illegally cultivating marijuana with THC levels between 25 per cent and 30 per cent, making it among the most potent in drug-trafficking history. Crime bosses have established 'extensive illegal grow operations' using falsified documentation and an undocumented labor force. 'They are bringing in Mexican nationals, bringing in Chinese immigrants as well, and basically bringing them in as the labor force within these bureau sites, promising them payment,' former California Wildlife Department Lt. John Nores told NewsNation. 'Not paying these guys, kind of extorting and keeping them around, really not really against their will.' Mexican cartels are also transporting marijuana into the US and partnering with domestic criminal groups to distribute it nationwide via the country's highway network. The DEA found that drug smugglers are transporting the products using the 'shotgun approach' in 'personally owned' vehicles, semi-trucks and tractor-trailers, the report states. The shotgun approach, which aims to minimize risk, involves sending the drugs across multiple vehicles, each carrying no more than a couple hundreds pounds of cannabis. Overseas shipments are sent via commercial flights from the US and Canada, as well as on shipping containers departing from American ports. Officials also found that cannabis produced in the US at grows operated by Chinese cartels is currently in high demand in the UK, France and Spain 'due to its potency'. Authorities in Oklahoma, Oregon, California, New Mexico and Maine have been battling a surge in Chinese weed farms - with some thought to be linked to criminal gangs known as 'triads', it emerged last year. Officials warned that illicit marijuana operations were on the rise because Chinese funding for such operations was skyrocketing. It is unclear whether funding was coming from groups connected to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), but experts have pointed out that triads are usually only allowed to operate if they agree to act as informal 'enforcers' for the government. A Homeland Security memo, leaked to the Daily Caller in 2023, also raised the possibility that profits were being funneled back to Beijing. The surge in illicit cannabis operations comes as President Donald Trump has vowed to throw everything possible at Mexico's cartels for flooding the US with deadly fentanyl. Mexico's new administration has shown a willingness to help, pursuing cartel operations and making arrests of gang leaders. In February, Trump designated eight Latin American criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations. He had called for the move in an executive order signed in January. The 'foreign terrorist organization' label is unusual because it deploys a terrorist designation normally reserved for groups like al-Qaida or the Islamic State group that use violence for political ends - not for money-focused crime rings such as the Latin American cartels. The Trump administration argues that the international connections and operations of the groups - including drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and violent pushes to extend their territory - warrant the designation.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
Ecuadorian drug trafficker pleads guilty in San Diego federal court
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A high-level Ecuadorian drug trafficker with ties to major Mexican cartels pleaded guilty in a San Diego federal courtroom Thursday to international drug trafficking charges, federal prosecutors announced. Wilder Emilio Sanchez Farfan, known by the alias 'Gato,' was extradited to the U.S. from Ecuador on Jan. 26, 2024. Authorities say Farfan led a vast transnational criminal network responsible for smuggling hundreds of kilograms of cocaine across South America and into the United States. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Farfan, 44, admitted in his plea agreement that his organization distributed more than 450 kilograms of cocaine throughout Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and other countries. The drugs were ultimately trafficked into the U.S. for distribution. Federal officials say Farfan's drug empire relied on bribery and violence, including the use of firearms and corruption of government officials, to protect and expand its operations. Farfan's name had already drawn attention from U.S. authorities prior to his arrest. The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had sanctioned him under Executive Order 14059 for contributing to the illicit activities of Mexican drug cartels. As part of his plea deal, Farfan agreed to forfeit over $899,000 in U.S. currency. His sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 11, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Yahoo
DOJ documents reveal names of 20 people arrested, charged in FBI Lubbock drug bust
The U.S. Department of Justice has released more details about the drug ring bust in Lubbock that FBI director Kash Patel touted on social media earlier in the week. Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham announced that there were 20 arrests of alleged methamphetamine and fentanyl traffickers in Lubbock with suspected ties to Mexican Cartels. Dig Deeper: FBI announces 22 arrests in drug bust in Lubbock, Arrington praises law enforcement efforts The arrests were the result of a two-year long investigation that began March 2023, during which law enforcement seized more than 43 kilograms of methamphetamine, 285.4 grams of fentanyl (approximately 1,902 pills), 335.5 grams of cocaine, 2,296.7 grams of marijuana, and six firearms. The 285.4 grams of seized fentanyl equals potentially 21,662 lethal doses of fentanyl, according to a U.S. Attorney's Office news release. On Friday, 15 people appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Lubbock for initial appearances after they were indicted for their alleged roles in the drug trafficking operation, according to court records. Those people include: Vida Tamor Overstreet, 49, who was arrested on March 26, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, unlawful use of a communications facility and distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Patrick Wayne Frazier, 38, who was arrested on Oct. 22, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Juantay Dewayne Foster, 44, who was arrested on March 26, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, unlawful use of a communications facility and distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. David Wayne Frazier Jr., 44, who was arrested March 26, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, unlawful use of a communications facility and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Santiago Daniel Baltazar, 26, who was arrested on March 26, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Walter Wood, 48, who was arrested on March 4, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Santos Moncada, 30, who was arrested on March 26, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Jessie Franco, 41, who was arrested on March 27, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Shondra Christine Walker, 40, who was arrested on March 26, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Orian Emanuel Garcia, 35, who was arrested on March 17, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine. Rudolfo Luna, 43, was charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Adam Lee Arredondo, 37, was charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine. Justin Lee Dominguez, 37, who was arrested on March 26, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and distribution and possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine. Anthony James Lockett, 44, who was arrested on Sept. 12, 2023, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and distribution and possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine and distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Rita Adelita Castillo, 44, was charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Paul Wayne Frazier, 38, who was arrested Feb. 28, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Charles Andre Sykes, 42, who was arrested on Feb. 28, is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Heather Jane Whitehead, 40, who was arrested on March 26 is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Henry Tienda, Jr., 35, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Gary Dewayne Bolton, aka Bay Bay, 36, is charged with distribution of fentanyl. Arhmad Rashad Fountain aka Ra Ra, 47, is charged with distribution of methamphetamine. Rubith Diaz Rodriguez, 24, who was arrested on Feb. 7, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine Tyler Kristian Piseno, 37, who was arrested on Sept. 8, is charged with distribution of fentanyl. The arrest were part of a joint collaboration between FBI's Dallas Field Office – Lubbock Resident Agency, the Texas DPS, the DEA's Dallas Field Office – Lubbock Resident Office, the Caprock High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Lubbock Police Department, the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office, the Texas Anti-Gang Center, the Levelland Police Department and the Hockley County Sheriff's Office. According to the DOJ, the investigation is part of Operation Take Back America — a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the DOJ to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: FBI drug bust operations leads to 20 arrested, 17 charged in Lubbock
